How Much Water Does a Shower Use?

According to recent research, it is estimated that Brits shower away more than 2,000,000 litres of water every single day. Furthermore, the UN found in 2018 that over 2 billion people were living in countries experiencing high water stress. With so many facing water shortages as part of their daily lives, it is important that those in more favourable positions find ways of conserving the resources they do have at their disposal.

In order to help Brits, we have put together a guide on shower water usage which will answer two main questions: “how much water does a shower use?” and “how can I save water in the shower?”.

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How much water does a shower use?

According to onaverage.co.uk, the typical person in the UK uses 50 litres of water during one shower session. Compare this to the standard dishwasher, which uses only 15 litres on average per session, and you realise that there’s a lot we can do to limit our water consumption while we shower.

Furthermore, the researchers at Home Water Works have calculated that the average American uses approximately 5,304 gallons of water in a year; extrapolate those figures to a family of four and you get a whopping 21,216 gallons. This is all assuming that a shower lasts 8 minutes – some certainly last longer.

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How to save water in the shower:

By far the best way of saving water in the shower is to limit your bathing time. The more time you spend, the more water you will use up. Other ways though which you can limit your water usage are covered in our 5 Ways to Save Water in the Bathroom post.

More shower tips:

Whether or not you choose to spend less time in the shower or use one of the more creative solutions in the previously mentioned post, you could nonetheless benefit from reading our guide on how to keep your shower clean for longer. Taking steps to make sure your shower is clean for longer means you will use less cleaning products less often, saving you money while also helping the environment by reducing your footprint.

Furthermore, those battling with low shower pressure issues could benefit from reading our guide on the best shower heads for low water pressure. However, keep in mind that lower pressure reduces the amount of water you use while showering – so it could actually be a blessing in disguise.

Feature image credit: stockfour / Shutterstock